Endpiece for a vacuum cleaner

ABSTRACT

An endpiece for a vacuum cleaner comprising a plate ( 3 ) having a lower surface which rests on the ground and optionally fitted with elements such as brushes ( 8 ), optionally comprising channels which direct suctioned air to a suction opening ( 5 ), also having an upper surface ( 4 ) which is fitted with a tube ( 6 ) which communicates with said opening and which is connected to a suction unit located close to the tube or at a distance therefrom in the case of an installation having a centralized suctioning unit. The lower surface ( 7 ) of the plate ( 3 ) comprises at least three suction channels ( 9,10 ) between which a wiping device ( 12 ) is mounted, said two channels ( 9,10 ) being disposed to the front and to the rear of the wiping device ( 12 ) in the direction of displacement of said endpiece on the ground during vacuuming.

[0001] The present invention relates to a nozzle for a vacuum cleaner.

[0002] A nozzle for a vacuum cleaner comprises a foot, of which the underside, designed to come into contact with the floor, is optionally equipped with parts such as brushes and optionally has channels directing the sucked air toward a suction orifice. The upper surface of the foot is equipped with a tube communicating with the orifice and connected to a vacuum-cleaning unit situated near the pipe or remote from it in the case of an installation having a centralized vacuum-cleaning unit. The parts in the form of brushes may be retractable so that the nozzle is easier to move over certain types of floor, particularly carpets and rugs.

[0003] The purpose of a vacuum cleaner is to suck up dust. However, the fine particles which are stirred up during the suction operation are not captured by the vacuum cleaner and are redeposited. This means that after vacuum cleaning a floor, such as a tiled floor or parquet floor, the vacuum cleaning has to be followed up by cleaning with a floorcloth, sponge or wipe, which may or may not be impregnated with a liquid.

[0004] The object of the invention is to provide a nozzle for a vacuum cleaner capable in one and the same operation of both suction and cleaning. To this end, in the nozzle to which the invention relates, the underside of the foot has at least two suction channels between which a wiping device is mounted, the two channels being situated in front of and behind the wiping device, in the direction of movement of the nozzle over the floor during vacuum cleaning. When the nozzle is moved over the floor, the suction channel situated in front in the direction of movement sucks up the large particles, and the cleaning device immediately picks up the microparticles, thus cleaning the floor.

[0005] In accordance with one feature of the invention, the wiping device is mounted removably on the underside of the foot. It is important to be able to remove the wiping device, partly in order to clean it or replace it, and partly so that the nozzle can be used on surfaces other than smooth surfaces, such as a tiled floor or parquet flooring, after the brushes that project from the underside of the foot have been retracted.

[0006] In accordance with another feature of the invention, and in order to ensure good suction and cleaning, when the underside of the foot is fitted with brushes defining, at least in part, suction channels, the lower plane of the wiping device lies approximately in the lower plane of the brushes.

[0007] In accordance with one embodiment of this nozzle, the wiping device is a wipe or the like. The wiping device could also be a sponge, floorcloth or the like.

[0008] In accordance with one simple embodiment of this nozzle, the wiping device is fixed removably to the underside of the foot by hook and loop devices, such as those known under the trade mark VELCRO.

[0009] For good cleaning, it is advantageous for the wiping device to be damp. It is therefore possible to use a damp wipe, or to fit the wiping device with a device for wetting it from a reservoir of liquid contained in the nozzle, or attached to the operator pole of the nozzle.

[0010] In one embodiment of the nozzle, the nozzle comprises means which, when the nozzle is moved in one direction, allow communication between the suction orifice and the suction channel situated ahead of it in the direction of movement of the nozzle and closes the suction channel situated behind it.

[0011] This arrangement is useful in that it concentrates the suction ahead of the wiping device, in the direction in which the nozzle is being moved.

[0012] It is possible to use a rocker mechanism to close one or other of the suction channels in alternation, depending on the direction in which the nozzle is being moved.

[0013] In accordance with another embodiment, the support for the wiping device is mounted on the foot of the nozzle in such a way that it slides in the direction in which the nozzle is moved, so as to close the suction channel situated behind it in the direction of movement of the nozzle and uncover the suction channel situated ahead of it. It is therefore the wiping device support itself that forms the shutter for one or other of the two suction channels situated ahead of and behind in the direction of movement of the nozzle.

[0014] In accordance with another embodiment of this nozzle, the foot is of generally rectangular shape and comprises two suction channels arranged along its two longitudinal edges.

[0015] In accordance with another embodiment of this nozzle the foot is of generally ovoid shape and comprises two suction channels that meet at the two vertices.

[0016] However, a clear understanding of the invention will be gained from the following description, which refers to the appended diagrammatic drawing showing, by way of non-limiting examples, several embodiments of this nozzle:

[0017]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first nozzle,

[0018]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bottom of this same nozzle on a larger scale,

[0019]FIG. 3 is a transverse cross section through the nozzle of FIGS. 1 and 2, taken on the line III-III as marked in FIG. 2,

[0020]FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the bottom of a second nozzle,

[0021]FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on V-V as marked in FIG. 4,

[0022]FIG. 6 is a partial view of this same nozzle in cross section taken on the line VI-VI as marked in FIG. 5,

[0023]FIG. 7 is a bottom view of a third nozzle,

[0024]FIGS. 8 and 9 are two perspective views, one of the bottom and the other in transverse cross section, of another nozzle.

[0025]FIG. 1 shows a vacuum-cleaner nozzle comprising a foot 3 of generally rectangular shape. This foot 3 comprises an upper surface 4, in the middle of which is a suction orifice 5. A pipe 6 is connected to this suction orifice, the pipe 6 being connected at its other end to a suction unit which may either be mobile and situated near the pipe 6, or fixed in the case of a centralized vacuum-cleaning installation.

[0026] The underside 7 of the foot 3 comprises two series of brushes 8 located near the longitudinal edges of the foot. Each series of brushes 8 defines the outside of a respective elongate suction channel 9, 10, the two channels 9, 10 converging on the suction nozzle 5 in the center of the foot. The surface between the suction channels 9 and 10 is used to attach a removable wiping device consisting of a wipe 12.

[0027] In practice, this wipe 12 may be damp, or damped with a liquid conveyed to the wipe from a reservoir built into the nozzle (not shown in the drawing). When the brush is moved in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 3, the suction channel 9 first sucks the dust off the floor, then the wipe cleans away the microparticles. When the nozzle is moved in the reverse direction, the suction channel 10 is now situated ahead of the wipe and so sucks up the large dust before the wipe 12 does the cleaning.

[0028] FIGS. 4 to 6 show a second embodiment of the vacuum-cleaner nozzle in which the same parts are denoted by the same references as before.

[0029] Here, the wipe 12 is mounted on a support 13 that slides in the two directions of movement of the nozzle. This sliding action is due to rollers 14 mounted on the support 13 and engaged in rails 15 formed in the foot. Because of the slight adhesion produced by the wipe 12 being in contact with the floor, when the nozzle is moved in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 5, the support 13 of the wipe 12 tends to move toward the right to close the channel 10, which is at the rear in the direction of movement of the nozzle, leaving the suction channel 9 open and concentrating the suction in this channel 9, which is situated ahead in the direction of movement of the nozzle.

[0030]FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the nozzle, which possesses an ovoid shape, with brushes 8 provided all the way around the perimeter of the nozzle, the two suction channels 9 and 10 meeting at the two ends, and these ends being provided with lateral inlets 16 for the sucked air. This figure shows a way of attaching the wipe 12 with the aid of strips 17 of hook and loop material known under the trade mark VELCRO. The strips 17 are made for example with loops, while the wipe 12 has hooks, or is provided with strips containing hooks.

[0031]FIGS. 8 and 9 show another embodiment of the nozzle, in which the same parts are denoted by the same references as before. Here, the two suction channels 9 and 10 are connected to the other by two side channels 18, while the suction orifice 5 communicates with the channel 10.

[0032] As will be clear from the above, the invention greatly improves on the prior art by providing a vacuum-cleaner nozzle that is capable of both sucking up dust and cleaning away microparticles in a single operation.

[0033] It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to only those embodiments of the nozzle that have been described above by way of example but that, on the contrary, it encompasses all variants thereof. To take one example, the wiping device could be for example a sponge, the channels 9 and 10 could be alternately opened and closed depending on the direction of movement of the nozzle by means of a valve, or the nozzle could include a reservoir of liquid for impregnating the wiping device, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention. 

1. A vacuum-cleaner nozzle of the type comprising a foot (3), of which the underside, designed to come into contact with the floor, is optionally equipped with parts such as brushes (8) and optionally has channels directing the sucked air toward a suction orifice (5), and of which the upper surface (4) is equipped with a pipe (6) communicating with this orifice and connected to a vacuum-cleaning unit situated near the pipe or remote from it in the case of an installation having a centralized vacuum-cleaning unit, the underside (7) of the foot (3) having at least two suction channels (9, 10) between which a wiping device (12) is mounted, and the two channels (9, 10) being situated in front of and behind the wiping device (12), in the direction of movement of the nozzle over the floor during vacuum cleaning, which nozzle is characterized in that the wiping device (12) is a wipe or the like.
 2. The nozzle as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the wiping device (12) is mounted removably on the underside (7) of the foot (3).
 3. The nozzle as claimed in either of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that when the underside of the foot (3) is fitted with brushes (8) defining in particular, at least in part, suction channels (9, 10), the lower plane of the wiping device (12) lies approximately in the lower plane of the brushes (8).
 4. The nozzle as claimed in either of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the wiping device (12) is fixed removably to the underside of the foot by hook and loop devices, such as those known under the trade mark Velcro.
 5. The nozzle as claimed in one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the wiping device (12) has a device for wetting it from a reservoir of liquid.
 6. The nozzle as claimed in one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it comprises means which, when the nozzle is moved in one direction, allow communication between the suction orifice (5) and the suction channel (9, 10) situated ahead of it in the direction of movement of the nozzle and closes the suction channel situated behind it.
 7. The nozzle as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the support (13) for the wiping device (12) is mounted on the foot (3) of the nozzle in such a way that it slides in the direction in which the nozzle is moved, so as to close the suction channel (10) situated behind it in the direction of movement of the nozzle (2) and uncover the suction channel (9) situated ahead of it.
 8. The nozzle as claimed in one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the foot (3) is of generally rectangular shape and comprises two suction channels (9, 10) arranged along its two longitudinal edges.
 9. The nozzle as claimed in one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the foot (3) is of generally ovoid shape and comprises two suction channels (9, 10) that meet at the two vertices. 